Environmentally friendly network infrastructure.

3rd version of the European Code of Conduct on Energy Consumption of Broadband Equipment implemented.Find out more

State-of-the-art information and communications technology (ICT) increasingly helps replace energy and resource-intensive products and services with more efficient ones. At the same time, however, the amount of data that needs to be saved and transmitted is growing due to ever more sophisticated applications. According to the SMART 2020 study published by the Climate Group of the Global e-Sustainability Initiative (GeSI), the ICT industry was responsible for around two percent of global emissions in 2007, the equivalent of around 830 metric megatons of CO2. Estimates foresee an increase to up to six percent each year until 2020.

That is why it is now even more important than ever to not only improve the performance of networks and data centers but to make them more energy efficient as well in the interest of climate protection.

Telekom Deutschland switches off, replaces and recycles any old systems that have been made redundant. We choose the most energy-efficient and environmentally friendly technology currently available when making new purchases. We also motivate our customers to save energy and reduce CO2 emissions by providing them with efficient solutions. For this purpose we published the "Klima schützen, Kosten senken" (Protecting the climate, cutting costs) brochure based on the SMART 2020 study.

We incorporated the third version of the code into the environmental regulations of our procurement policies in 2011. Deutsche Telekom complies with the maximum energy consumption levels for new technology as specified in the code in collaboration with our suppliers.

In September 2010, 20 European telecommunications companies, all members of GeSI, signed the Code of Conduct on Energy Consumption of Broadband Equipment (CoCBB). Those who signed the code, including Telekom and our Greek subsidiary OTE, also pledged to optimize energy requirements in the broadband sector.

The CoCBB specifies standards for devices and network components and places a number of requirements on systems manufacturers:

Placing all participants under the obligation to produce, select and use devices in compliance with energy-efficient criteria

Providing information on improvements in energy efficiency regarding end devices and equipment used in the network infrastructure chain

Low power mode on the road to a green DSL.

In line with the CoCBB Telekom is identifying ways to optimize the energy consumption of its ADSL2+ network. Whereas previously, all connections were operated in a switched-on mode, i.e. in full-power mode" (L0 mode), by using the low-power mode" (L2 mode) it will be possible in the future to reduce the electric power usage when using data services with a lower bandwidth. Analysis revealed that the use of the L2 mode in the ADSL2+ network creates energy savings of up to 20 percent.

So far, the low-power mode has not been used in the network due to poor quality, stability and interoperability. Meanwhile, due to additional enhanced features of the L2 mode which have been achieved within the framework of standardization through the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), it is possible to increase both the quality of service in L2 mode and the stability. Telekom contributed significantly to the ITU standardization committee's development of the new standard during the reporting period.

In the future it will be possible to implement the improved modes with a modem generation based on MSAN technology, which is currently used in the ADSL2+ access nodes.